


The Reality of the Job

by lodessa



Category: The Office (US)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-04-02
Updated: 2008-04-02
Packaged: 2017-11-07 17:09:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/433465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lodessa/pseuds/lodessa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Michael has done that thing where he shuts the blinds to his office, closes the door, and turns out the light. This means he wants someone (preferably her, or Jim… or Ryan [except Ryan’s not here anymore] but definitely under no circumstances Toby, and probably not Dwight) to go ask him what’s wrong. Pam is stoically ignoring this fact though, concentrating instead on the sudoku puzzle in front of her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Reality of the Job

Michael has done that thing where he shuts the blinds to his office, closes the door, and turns out the light. This means he wants someone (preferably her, or Jim… or Ryan [except Ryan’s not here anymore] but definitely under no circumstances Toby, and probably not Dwight) to go ask him what’s wrong. Pam is stoically ignoring this fact though, concentrating instead on the sudoku puzzle in front of her. 

She can see the light on her phone flash to indicate that Michael’s phone is ringing. He isn’t picking up. After about 5 minutes, her phone rings. It’s Jan.

“Dunder Mifflin, This is Pam.”

“Is Michael in his office?”

Pam agrees to go investigate, to keep Jan from driving over to force the issue. Michael is listening to the promo clip of some depressing ballad on itunes again (Jim thought about showing Michael YouTube for a while before he realized how horrible the consequences of that could be and decided against it). When he notices Pam he acts as if he hasn’t been waiting for someone to come check on him.

“Michael, is everything okay in here? Jan says that you are ignoring her phone calls.”

“What does she care? She’s leaving me.”

Leaving him, it turns out means that she’s interviewing for a job that will require a lot of travel. It takes like 20 minutes to get this fact out of Michael. No one ever said his idea of reality had much in common with the rest of the world.

“Just call her back, Michael. Please.”

In the end she has to bribe him with the promise of ice cream. Also, he refuses the phone call idea; he will only talk to Jan in person. So Pam is obligated to arrange the rest. Sometimes her job feels more like being relationship counselor than a receptionist. 

Jan sighs on the phone, “He’s really upset isn’t he?”

“He’s Michael. A little sugar and something new to be excited about and he’ll completely forget it.”

In other words, he is like a pre-schooler. Maybe she’s missed her true calling. But then she’d have to deal with a bunch of children, and usually only one or two of the employees of Dunder Mifflin Scranton have a temper tantrum in a given day.

“Do you think I’m selfish for wanting this? Forget it; I’m sorry I’ve involved you so much.”

“Jan. You can’t just live to make him happy. You’ll wake up one day and not even like the person you’ve become. Believe me, I know.”

She’d never tried for anything because of Roy. She suspects that her achieving things made him feel bad about himself and that’s why he never encouraged her, but it wasn’t really his responsibility. It was hers. It had taken her far too long to realize that and she didn’t want Jan to make the same mistake. She liked Jan, had kind of admired her at one point, and she really wishes she’d stop doing things that made everyone cringe and regain some modicum of dignity.

“Thanks Pam.”

“Just remember to get rocky road, with sprinkles.”

“Waffle cone or sugar?”

“Sugar.” She sort of hates knowing that, but it is a vital part of her job. Without it, the office would fall apart.


End file.
